On the Internet, of course, it is readily available from any computer terminal, and a lot of minors today are a lot more sophisticated in the use of computers than their parents. The ability of parents to monitor and supervise what they are doing is greatly impaired by this difference in computer aptitude.

"I can't say much more than that, but it is a difficult question. And I think there needs to be additional effort in this area, probably by all branches of government, so that the law fully takes into account the differences regarding communication over the Internet and access to materials over the Internet by minors.

Mike DeWine (R. Ohio) has been quizing nominees about Internet Porn. Thats interesting in and of itself. DeWine seems to be of the opinion that its a shame that the CDA was overturned. He makes the typical deciet of saying "pornography" in reference to legislation that actually says "indecency." The two concepts are very different. Roberts didn't really say anything substantive in response to this question. Alito, on the other hand, seems to be of the opinion that because old people are less likely to understand computers then young people (is that really still true, last I checked I'm nearly 30...) perhaps the First Amendment shouldn't be as broadly applied to the Internet as it is in environments where adults are more comfortable. This stands in contrast to the Court's view that because the Internet is a medium where the user gets to control what they see, and anyone can publish, it deserves better protection then media like broadcast Television, not worse...

Alito Weighs in on Internet Porn - Broadcasting & Cable

Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.

Thats annoying.

Create an e-annoyance, go to jail | Perspectives | CNET News.com

And so we live in a universe of new media with phenomenal opportunities for worldwide communications and research — but populated by volunteer vandals with poison-pen intellects. Congress has enabled them and protects them.

A prominent Nashvillian comes out against the requirement that Internet complaintants actually demonstrate that they have a valid legal complaint before getting access to the identities of Internet users. If he didn't have a valid legal complaint then I wonder what he intended to do with this person's identity? Attack them personally??

John Seigenthaler, a retired journalist, founded The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

What irony. Frankly, its wikipedia, just edit it, and if you worked with Kennedy try not to take your personal involvement in people's conspiracy theories seriously. RELAX. ITS JUST A BUNCH OF ONES AND ZEROS.

USATODAY.com - A false Wikipedia 'biography'

When students post their faces, personal diaries and gossip on Web sites like Myspace.com and Xanga.com, it is not simply harmless teen fun, according to one Sussex County Catholic school principal.It's an open invitation to predators and an activity that Pope John XIII Regional High School in Sparta will no longer tolerate, the Rev. Kieran McHugh told a packed assembly of 900 high school students two weeks ago.

Effective immediately, and over student complaints, the teens were told to dismantle their Myspace.com accounts or similar sites with personal profiles and blogs. Defy the order and face suspension, students were told.

MemeStreams banned by New Jersey Catholic School

Yahoo Inc. said Wednesday it will bar chat rooms that promote sex between minors and adults and restrict all chat rooms to users 18 and older.

The changes come under an agreement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning.

``This is about protecting kids,'' Bruning said.

Protecting kids my ass. When you completely eliminate kid's ability to use a service you haven't protected them, you've restricted their freedom. You're punishing them for something somebody else might do. Whats even more annoying is that these journalists think that the bigger story is that they banned the sex chat rooms. Its obvious that these attourneys, the journalists, and the readership are all completely oblivious to the idea that teenagers are people who might have fundamental rights that they are infringing in their zeal to protect them. This is the first time I recall seeing Eliot Spitzer do something I felt was over the top.

Yahoo bans all minors from all chat rooms.

20 members of the House sent an open letter to Congressman Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet (part of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce), and its ranking member, Edward J. Markey. All 20 pledged their allegiance to the Broadcast Flag.

Marsha Blackburn from good ole Brentwood, TN is on this list. If you still live in her district drop her a note and explain to her that her local constituency understands technology, is aware of issues like this, and wants their computers to do what they tell them to do and not what the media industry wants them to do. There are few places in the US where so many of the local voters would be likely to be aware of this and unhappy with it.

20 US Reps support the Broadcast Flag, including Brentwood's

Rattle wrote:
In the most recent blow against evil pornography, the feds have pointed the chilling effects laser at SuicideGirls, forcing them to take down a number of photo-sets and individual photos.

It doesn't look like the Feds actually DID anything. They are pre-emptively taking photosets down in order to stave off prosecution. But the fundies have already won. If I were running SG I'd stand my ground and fight rather then wimping out like this.

The linked article is a good one, particularly in the way that it juxtiposes Alan Ginsberg with the rambling incoherent tripe from WorldNetDaily in which the author argues that if you're going to allow obsenity you have to allow homeless people to be murdered. Fucking stupid. How can you possibly be that fucking stupid?! (U:Benjamin Shapiro goes to Harvard Law School and he can't wrap his mind around the idea that that homeless people are people and therefore there would be a state interest in protecting them from murder in a rights based society?! Man, law school must be easier then I thought! I hope he doesn't skip the classes that explain what inalienable means.)

The 60s are not ancient history. If they came for the poets then, they'll come for the poets now. Republican MemeStreamers who are wondering why I have a problem with their politcal party can look no futher then the coming crackdown on thoughtcrime. (And, yes, Hillary Clinton, thats why I don't like you, too, and will not vote for you.)

RE: Justice Department in War Against Porn, chilling effects hit SuicideGirls

The better world is one in which we don't need to seek permission or risk punishment to do cool stuff that makes the world a better place. In the early days of the internet, a lot of people felt that we'd found that better world. Thanks to the internet's open protocols, many of the most useful innovations, from the web to instant messaging to internet telephony, emerged without developers needing anyone's permission to run their cool new code.

But under a permission-only legal regime, the Katrinalist.net volunteers would have had to contact every site with listing data and ask for authorization to use the information first. With dozens of sites popping up in the days following the storm, getting permission would have taken a lot of time -- if the site owners could even be reached and convinced of the merit of the idea in the first place.

On the internet, having to ask permission first can kill the creation of a useful new tool.

The law should treat the internet as open by default -- a public resource rather than a gated community. This doesn't mean that we can't protect our networked computers or data with copyright law, passwords, firewalls or perhaps even terms-of-service agreements. But rather than asking whether a user obtained permission to access computers connected to the internet, the law should ask whether the owner did anything to prevent public access.

Jennifer Granick has an article on Wired talking about risks to the open Internet, using the situation surrounding KatrinaList.net as an example. According to a post on her blog, they have already received a cease and desist letter from one of the sites they are collecting information from.

Jennifer is going to be writing columns for Wired bi-weekly. She is one of the best cyberlaw people in the world, so I expect them to be good. Feel the good karma..

Wired News: Open Internet, We Hardly Knew Ye

Rumor has it that a senator will introduce an amendment on Tuesday in the Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science sub-committee to reintroduce the flag. On Thursday, it goes to a full committee vote.

Rumor? If this is true, and it passes, it will be an incredible doublecross. One of the few moments where sending a fax/email bomb like this is probably is an effective tactic because it shows Congress they are being watched.

Electronic Frontier Foundation: Broadcast flag advocacy?

The U.S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customers' online activities.

Your ISP as Net watchdog | CNET News.com